ever Barge-out an old 16' Avon?

fundyheather · 18 April 2010, 21:48

I'm getting and old 16 foot Avon soon, and wonder if anybody out there ever completely plywood decked over the top of the tubes and mounted a little pilot house. I want to chug along at sail boat speed with a 10hp outboard or less. A 40' tide and a tidal bore comes by here, so when I go out I have to stay out until the tide brings me back. Need a cabin to snooze in, want the rain to run off instead of in. I have seen some work boats on the net that do this at great expense; but I'm cheap, if not easy!

Any ideas?

phillnjack · 29 April 2010, 14:44

I think you might be best to just keep the boat as it is, and buy a very good dry suit.

But if you do go ahead and build a shed to sit on top of your avon ...Good luck

phill

azzurro · 30 April 2010, 08:01

I'm no expert but it looks like a very light wind would be a big trouble. Dry suit much better.

What about some kind of tent?

Not like this of course
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:p...nt-MB-005-.jpg

Nos4r2 · 30 April 2010, 16:52

I'd go for a drysuit too, and a big enough engine to beat the tide back.

m chappelow · 30 April 2010, 17:55

we once made a taller and extended bow dodger for a 16 ft sib when we were crab potting from a large tarp ,,ex truck curtain sider ,,which extended about half way along the boat held up in the middle with a 4 ft high pole ,,we were thinking about making one from plywood ,,it was great for a bit of shelter and for making a brew on a gas stove but down side was it acted like a large sail in any sort of breeze .

fundyheather · 01 May 2010, 02:33

thanks for the advice, guys!
jim

treerat · 01 May 2010, 09:00

Odd thought, cut the deck away at the back an but a bulk head in behine the consol. Then you'd have a flat (ish) base that was below the tubes, you cold floor this large enough to get down out of the environment without coming too far above the tubes?

m chappelow · 02 May 2010, 15:29

if i remember right i once saw in a catalouge think it was zodiac or someone that made a raised sun deck up as far as the top of the tubes with carpet on the top or something like that in the 70s or 80s,,,,so you could steer with the tiller , wear sunglasses and a smirk on your face and have a couple of tarts laid out on deck , but with storage underneath .

jyasaki · 03 May 2010, 23:56

No gunwales, eh? I know the CG here would have a fit about that. Don't know about your side of the pond.

Unless you had some 3' railings around the thing, in which case it would just look like another pontoon boat (albeit smaller. And not aluminum.)...

jky